Many salespeople have nightmares when trying to present solutions to their prospects because they perceive their competitors are stronger than them in certain areas, or their prices are higher and they are convinced the buyers will always go for the cheaper option. The perceived weaknesses you have will prove costly if you consider them to be reality. They will come…

Here’s a question to get you thinking: What do you need to do today, tomorrow and next week that would have the biggest impact on your business growth? It’s a far-reaching question that determines how and where you should be spending your valuable time. It focuses on what are the most significant areas for you to concentrate and focus on…

What’s most important to your prospects? When we ask this question, many salespeople we train will answer “to save money!” And, while that’s often the main topic of conversation, it rarely transpires as the REAL criteria prospects use to make a decision to go with you. You have to be absolutely clear on what’s driving their decision-making. And it’s necessary…

The excitement you feel when you get a positive response from your prospect is palpable. All that hard work, all that research, all that grafting and painstaking questioning and presenting has paid off and the prospect is heading towards buyers-ville. It’s all going so well. Then, when you ask the prospect for the order, they bring out another objection, or…

As we were growing up, one of our fondest memories is often associated with sitting on our parent’s knee, being read a story. It created that initial and long-lasting bond between us. Maybe we were intrigued by a fairy-tale, or inspired by a true story of courage and bravery. Whatever it was, the fact we were regaled with a story…

The last five years has been remarkable in the propensity for new sales models. Each one is a stage further in the evolution of the sales process and its ability to get the buyer to invest in what’s best for their business. But it’s one of the older models that we return to for inspiration here. You’ll no doubt remember…

One of our clients approached us recently and said “I need you to run a motivation session for our sales team. Their figures are down and I want you to give them a boost”. We discussed the situation with him, and asked why he felt that doing a quick ‘motivation session’ would solve the issue. He replied that everything else…

“The customer is always right” I’m sure you’ve heard these oft-quoted words from Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of the department store that bears his name. And how often have you thought of those words and cringed when the customer you are with has said something you know is definitely the wrong side of wrong? Alexander Kjerulf is an independent…

Here’s a question to start your day. ‘If you’re going to make some contacts with prospects today, why should they bother talking to you?’ Now, if you answered with something like ‘because my products are better than the competition’ or ‘I know what people in their position need’ then maybe you need to take a step back first. We’ve all…

When I was growing up, my uncle had some ideas that, in this modern world, would seem laughable. Yet, in those days, we had no social media and a mobile phone was a brick attached to a 16lb battery! Yes, things were a little different then. One of my uncle’s ideas was that ‘if it’s in the paper, it’s true’….